Elvis Presley Had a Surprisingly Holistic View of the Afterlife

Elvis Presley‘s swinging hips, velvety voice, and charismatic disposition worked together to earn him his fame. That being said, Elvis never received the label of a “deep thinker” or “sentimental being”. After all, the man hardly wrote any of his songs and was a sex symbol to the masses. However, he had one view that subverted all of these presumptuous and shallow notions. And that view regards Elvis Presley’s spiritual and religious perspectives on the afterlife.

Videos by American Songwriter

Given Presley’s upbringing in the South, one would assume he was a staunch Christian. He definitely was, to some extent. His religious perspective on the afterlife, though, went a bit beyond Christianity. Instead, it was sprawling, universal, encompassing, and well-documented by his ex-girlfriend, Linda Thompson.

Elvis Presley and His Diverse Spiritual Perspective on Death

In Thompson’s 2016 book, A Little Thing Called Life, Presley’s ex-girlfriend went very in-depth about his religious views and his connection to them. Keep in mind that this is all according to her personal experience with The King. So, take it all with a grain of salt.

Regardless, Thompson started her story by writing that Elvis was “very humble about his place in the cosmos and had an abiding faith in Jesus.”

“At the same time, he was never judgmental about the beliefs of others and didn’t feel everyone in the whole world had to be Christian,” Thompson wrote in her book.

Despite the fact that Presley was a loyal Pentecostal Christian, the man clearly believed in religious plurality. He also appeared to believe that no one faith was bound to a certain destiny, per Thompson.

“We agreed that the God we knew and loved, which was all-encompassing, did not hold the belief that if you’re raised with Hinduism, or Buddhism, or any other non-Christian faith, you’re doomed to hell,” she continued. “That’s not the God we recognized.”

According to Thompson, Presley “believed in the laying on of hands and faith healing, and he believed in the Holy Spirit.”

“After his passion for music, [religion] was the most profound way in which he connected with others,” Presley’s ex added.

Presley’s views are interesting, heartfelt, personally crafted, and frankly a bit surprising. His views are surprising both in the sense that Presley was a staunch Pentecostal Christian and, on the surface, someone who seemingly did not take part in theological philosophy. However, Elvis Presley clearly contained multitudes. And those multitudes went far beyond his public persona.

Photo via Getty Images